After the Disney World half we didn’t really run for a while. I meant to but a lot of things got in the way. First, there was the weather (winter weather, unplowed roads etc. combined with the fact that I hate the treadmill dreadmill). Dan and I also moved from midtown to downtown. I hate moving and this was our fifth move since 2008 (it was now 2012). We bought a condo, so trust me, we aren’t moving again for a while.

We had signed up for the Sporting Life 10k in May, partly because it was a good cause and we got to run down Yonge Street, and also partly because we got complimentary Sporting Life gift cards. A salesman named Jody helped me with the shirts I bought at Sporting Life (he was really nice and helpful). I’ll point out the shirt when I post a picture of it (I wore it in the Montreal half marathon in September).

Anyway, I didn’t really eat much for breakfast on the morning of the race, which is unusual for me because I need to eat basically every three hours. Then by the time we rode the shuttle bus (subways weren’t running yet since it was a Sunday) up to midtown, basically next to the street where we used to live, I was hungry again. It was cloudy and a little chilly that morning and once again I broke the cardinal runner’s rule and wore the race shirt on the race day. I know, I can’t help myself sometimes.

When the race started we took off and started running. I think we even got in the right corral. It was pretty cool, especially when we turned around and looked behind us. It was like a sea of yellow shirts running down Yonge Street. We learned later that this was the biggest race in Toronto. Wow! The first part of the race was fine, even though I was a little out of shape from my extended break. About 6k in I totally hit the wall. I was so tired and started seeing stars and made Dan walk (he was furious). I knew I should have eaten more and just felt like I couldn’t carry on. After taking some Gatorade from an aid station I was ready to finish. I don’t have any of the official race pics because they look awful. My head is down for most of the race and I look like I’m suffering. I’d post some here, except you can’t really tell since there’s a giant watermark on them (I understand photographers need to do that of course or everyone would be stealing their pics instead of buying them).

I told Dan to leave me but he refused. I said he could meet me at the finish and he asked me how he was supposed to find me (it seemed like one in four runners looked like me. Same body type, long black hair in a pony tail, wearing a yellow shirt). Good point. So we continued on together and finally finished the race. It was not my proudest moment, though I was happy to have the medal around my neck.

The race ended in Fort York so we walked home from there. I learned an important lesson that day. Make sure to eat properly and fuel up. Otherwise you suffer. And our time? 1 hour and .3 seconds. Dan was so mad because we could have run it in under an hour! Next time right?

With my medal after the race. Happy to support Camp Ooch (camp for kids with cancer).

Dan and I with our medals.

Next up, my trip recap on our east coast adventure (Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) and a race report on the Warrior Dash!